All I Ask
by 1221bookworm
Summary: Thorne gives unsolicited relationship advice to Wolf over the existence of a certain ring.


_**A/N: This was inspired by Wolf playing with the ring in his pocket in Wires and Nerve. And the moment I saw it, I could also hear Thorne telling Wolf it was doing him no good in his pocket. And when I saw the prompt "All I Ask," I though it would be a cute fit. So, presenting Thorne giving Wolf some brotherly advice.**_

 _ **A/N2: I don't own the Lunar Chronicles.**_

All I Ask

Wolf ran the ring between his fingers, watching as the light caught it at different angles, admiring the glint of gold and the flash of the reflection off the table. He'd bought the ring weeks ago. It had been a masterpiece of secrecy to get away long enough to pick it out. He'd spent hours going through pictures he'd found on the net, carefully clearing his history after every view. Then he'd searched out local jewelers, surreptitiously glancing in their windows whenever he and Scarlet were in town.

He supposed he could have just told Scarlet he had errands to run and he'd be home soon. But the extra steps, the secrecy. Maybe they had all just been a ploy to keep himself from actually purchasing the ring. The longer the search, the longer before he would have to voice the words that accompanied the ring. Such a small thing to hold so much hope for the future.

Glancing up the stairs where he could hear Scarlet's footsteps coming, he wiped the ring on his shirt and tucked it back into his pocket. He'd also have to figure out an appropriate moment to ask her. And planning that would take time.

"Hey, Wolf." Scarlet came up behind him and put her arms around his neck. She pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Are you all done?"

"Finished," he agreed. Staking up the tomatoes had taken most of the morning, but Scarlet promised it would be worth it when the tomatoes ripened.

Scarlet buried her face in his hair. "You smell like tomatoes."

Wolf rumbled with a laugh. He turned to return her kiss. "The smell is driving me crazy. It's making me hungry for a tomato sandwich."

Shaking her head, Scarlet moved toward the stove. "How's about some tomato soup? I'll make grilled cheese to go with it."

"Yum." Wolf stood and grabbed his apron from the peg next to the sink. He could feel the weight of the ring in his pocket. _Soon._ He promised himself. _Soon._

 _Vrrrrrrr Vrrrrrrrr_

The portscreen vibrated its way across the table, the request for a vid comm brightening the screen. Wolf picked it up and tapped the accept button, which quickly changed into Cress' face.

"Hi, Wolf! How are you?"

"Glad to see you." Wolf sat back against the couch. "We heard about the tsunami and Scarlet's been trying to comm you all day."

"Sorry," Cress grimaced. "I've been trying to connect loved ones all day. The net was overloaded with comms, so I had to set up a program to compress and decompress the messages so we could get more through."

Thorne's face appeared beside Cress. "Wasn't it a good thing she was here? She went right to work with her mad hacker skills."

Wolf grinned at Thorne's compliments to his girlfriend. "I don't think it counts as hacking"

"Details"

"but I'm sure everyone's grateful just the same."

There was a _ping_ in the background and Cress' face disappeared. "I have to take care of this, just give me two seconds." Her voice floated back as she checked a second port and started tapping commands into it.

Wolf reached into his pocket and started running the ring between his fingers as Thorne recounted tales of how high the swells were during the storm and the amount of damage that had taken place. He liked the smoothness running underneath his thumb, and he imagined holding Scarlet's hand and running his thumb over her ring.

"Rampion paging Wolf. Rampion paging Wolf." Thorne was waving his hands in the port, looking like a crazed air traffic controller.

"Sorry." Shocked out of his reverie, Wolf lost his grip on the ring. It gave a cheerful _clink_ as it hit the floor, and rolled several feet before tipping, dancing on its edge before settling into place. Wolf smacked at the floor, trying to catch it before it went any further. He scooped it up, carefully wiping away any dust with his sleeve before tucking it back into his pocket. He picked up the discarded port.

Thorne was eying him curiously. "What was that all about?"

"Nothing. Just thought it was the doorbell, that's all." Wolf patted his pocket to make sure the ring was still secure.

"Where's Scarlet?"

"Upstairs, why?"

"Can she hear us?"

Wolf gave a low growl of frustration. "I don't think so, she's in the shower."

"Good." The scenery behind Thorne moved. Thorne must be walking from the cargo bay to the crew quarters. Wolf could hear the door _whoosh_ open and then close again. Thorne's face filled the whole screen again. "That was a ring, wasn't it?"

Wolf's fingers drummed against the back of the port. "Don't know what your talking about." He examined the pattern on the couch, picking at tiny threads that were coming loose in the pattern.

"Fine, whatever. Don't tell me. I'm just the most smooth gentleman with the ladies that you know, so if you were to, you know, need some advice on what to _do_ with a ring."

"I know what an engagement ring's for." Wolf muttered the words, hoping a lack of interest in the conversation would quickly bore Thorne. It didn't work.

"So it _was_ an engagement ring. You can't fool a mastermind like me. When are you going to pop the question?"

Wolf shook his head, glancing furtively toward the stairs. "It's nothing. It's just a little something I picked up for Scarlet."

Thorne gave a slow blink, clearly expressing his lack of belief in Wolf's hasty lie. "How long have you had it then?"

"Two weeks." Wolf heaved a sigh. Thorne could see right through his bad acting, and who knew. He might actually have some helpful advice.

Maybe. After he was done crowing.

Thorne slapped his forehead into his palm. "Two weeks? Two Whole weeks?"

"Shhs, keep it down. I'm working on it. I want it to be perfect."

"Man, the only way for it to be perfect is if that ring gets out of your pocket and onto her finger."

"I know." Frustrated, Wolf ran a hand through his hair. "Any ideas?"

"You've got to do this your way, Wolf. I've never been in the commitment business before. All I'm asking is that you get that ring" he pointed toward Wolf's pocket just incase Wolf thought he was talking about anything else, "out. It doesn't do you any good sitting in there. Just pull it out and tell her you love her and you can't see yourself anywhere else but with her. Short. Simple. To the point."

Wolf grimaced. That sounded too plain.

"Carswell?" Cress was on the other side of the door, and she was knocking on it tentatively. "Carswell, what are you doing in there?"

The door _whooshed_ and Cress was back, plopping down in the bed next to Thorne. "Why are you in here?"

With a smoothness that Wolf could only envy, Thorne slipped his arm around Cress and gave her a charming smile. "I didn't want to interrupt your work, so I came in here to keep Wolf company."

Cress' crinkled nose spoke of disbelief, but Scarlet was coming then, so she let the matter rest as she waved to Scarlet and gave profuse apologies for making Scarlet worry all day about whether they had survived.

They chatted some more, Cress and Thorne promising to stop by and see them soon.

Scarlet yawned. "It's getting late here, and the chickens don't know how to sleep in. We'll talk to you soon." She gave them both a wave, and blew a kiss before moving to end the comm. Thorne and Cress waved back. As the screen powered down, Wolf could see Thorne mouthing "Just ask her." He shook his head exasperatedly. Thorne could have blown it if Scarlet had seen his antics. At least she was too busy rubbing her eyes. She stretched. "I'm going to bed." She kissed him, soft and sweet. "Good night."

"Good night" he mumbled in reply, watching as she disappeared up the stairs. He took the ring out again and turned it in the light, making sure it hadn't been damaged in its earlier fall. Satisfied, he tucked it away, patting his pocket before lifting himself off the sofa and turning out the lights. _Thorne was right,_ he reasoned as he quietly climbed the stairs. _I don't need anything_ _fancy, I want_ _it to be here, on the farm._ _She'd like_ _that,_ h _e_ mused, preparing for bed. _The most important thing to do_ _is_ _ask._

 _ **NaNoWriMo word count:1,410.**_


End file.
